February 02, 2016

Oh My Tian! What A Whimsical Cafe At Whampoa West!

"Oh My Tian!" "Oh My 天!" An euphemism of "Oh My God" which we usually use to express shock or surprise is now the name of a cafe! Oh my tian, it's for real.

That's the exclamation Oh My Tian's owners hope to hear from us, the customers, as we step into their fantasy-turned-reality world.

Located at Whampoa West, OMT is literally a new kid on the block, being nestled at the ground level of a HDB block that is a convenient 2 minutes walk from Boon Keng (NE9) mrt station. Very near to Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut Teh too.

Opened by the same folks behind Hatter Street in Kovan, OMT takes on a childhood-inspired carnival theme that is aptly reflected in its well-thought out interior, and even in the namecard's ticket-style design.

The space is cleverly sectioned into several nooks, each with its own Instagram-worthy whimsical appeal. My favorite is undoubtedly the carousel booth, excitedly asking my friend to take a photo for me even before we settled down at a table hehee.

Though the casual joint is only in its second day of operations and relatively unknown when we visited, it was already filled with a perpetual stream of customers from dating couples to families to cafe-hoppers (us lah :p), and perhaps curious passerbys?

I think it wouldn't be far off to guess most are keen to find out what this new place has to offer.

In terms of food options, it is rather limited with only 5 savory items which are OMT Big Breakfast ($14), Hasbrown Pizza ($12), Chicken Tacos ($12), French Toast ($10), and Donut Burger ($13), alongside a sweet selection of Waffles, House-made Ice Cream and Baked Goodies.

Wait..... Donut Burger?

We wondered what the marriage of donut and burger would taste like, and the unlikely union turned out to be not too forceful at all.

In fact, the soft, fluffiness of the sugar-sprinkled donut provided a welcoming lightness to the hearty combination of beef patty, hashbrown, mushrooms, caramelised onions, cheddar and BBQ sauce. For a cafe food item and the price we're paying, this is considered more than passable.

I had hoped to say, "please show some love to their house-baked Carrot Cake ($6.80)", but the overpowering dose of cinnamon in it prevented me. The cake also wasn't "nutty" enough though sufficiently moist.

The Ice Cream ($3.50 single / $6 double scoop) flavors of milo and coffee were spot-on, but texture can be further improved.